This was different. Sometimes I felt it went fast sometimes it dragged. I expected more action. Nice take on what would happen if Robin and Marien had a daughter no one knew about. I waited patiently for more to happen with the romance between Adam and Isabelle. If you have readers who enjoy RH, this one is for them. ( )

“Hood” was better a retelling than I was originally expecting and despite some elements being changed around to draw in more of a YA audience with the focus of the story primarily on Robin Hood’s daughter Isabelle instead, this whirlwind adventure about the great legendary heroic outlaw left me wanting more.

If you haven’t already know, this novel based on the world renowned English Folklore that takes readers through a journey of epic proportions as we follow Isabelle, the newly discovered daughter of the notorious outlaw, find the father she's never known while dealing with wild thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws (and possible romance), new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead.

It has all the elements you would want in a story like this and would highly recommend it if you’re a fan of the childhood series or want to further explore what made Robin Hood so infamous.

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I was willing to overlook the annoying perfection of Isabelle, as well as the fact that Marian and Robin were separated for 16 years... But that ending? Forget it. No way Robin Hood is felled by a nick from a poisoned dagger wielded by a crazed nun. Ugh. ( )

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I know this is late, but I wanted to point this out anyway,

Does anyone remember the movie The Princess of Thieves? This book reminds me of a reboot of this movie. But more of what if she did not start with the Merry Men. I love what-if stories and alternate scenarios. This one I enjoyed. I am hoping for a sequel but will be happy with what we got.

Isabelle of Kirklees is the main character of this story. Isabelle could be rounded a little more, but it is not enough to call her a flat character. You see her flaws and how they related to her time growing up in the quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent where she lives with her mother, Marien, and her growth when she is with the “new-gen” of Merry Men. What I liked about her is, you can tell whose daughter she is by her personality and she is still her own self. Isabelle is an interesting character and loved how you see who she is throughout the book.

There was a part of this book where it reminded me of The Prince of Thieves movie. The part where we see the Merry Men’s village in Sherwood forest. I could relate to most of this part from the movie how it was the first time Marien saw the village to how it was when Isabelle first saw it. The gathering of the families at the tables, the homes up in trees, and various other things. The way the Merry Men interact with each other and how everyone seems to not care what the backgrounds are as long as you are loyal to Robin and prove your place amongst them.

Adam, Patrick, Little, and Helena are who I like to call the “new-gen” of the Merry Men. I fell in love with these characters. Each one is different, and yet they fight like siblings. I enjoyed learning about them throughout the novel. They were well flushed. The small rivalry between Isabelle and Helena was great to see. How accepted Isabelle into the group was great to see after she proved herself to be amongst them. I would love to see more of these characters.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend this to those who love fun reading and what-if books.

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This was a decent reimagining of the Robin Hood story for a YA audience. My primary objection was a lack of real surprises (the good characters were good and the bad characters were bad, full stop), but it was an entertaining read despite that. ( )